Tag Archives: cold weather

You may have already noticed a slight chill in the air after the sun goes down. As autumn begins to settle in the temperatures continue to drop, here are a few items you need to check to get your car ready for fall.

HVAC. Make sure your heater and your air conditioner are working. Even when the temperatures get colder, your air conditioner is still useful for removing moisture from the air and keeping your windows from getting foggy.

Brakes. Have your brakes inspected to make sure your pads aren’t worn too thin. Wet leaves on the road can lead to slippery driving conditions.

Lights. As the nights get longer, you’ll be using your headlights more often. Make sure all of your exterior lights are working and angled correctly.

Wipers. While autumn does tend to be a bit dryer here in Mississippi, you still need good windshield wipers. If they are leaving streaks or have any cracks, they need to be replaced.

Emergency gear. This is something you should keep in your car year-round, but as the temperatures get cooler, make sure you have a blanket and even an ice scraper—you want to be prepared in case we have an early frost.

There are a lot of reasons we use more fuel when it’s cold. It takes longer for cars to warm to their optimum temperature for fuel, for one. Plus, when we use heaters, seat warmers, and the defrost, it takes more energy, which uses up more fuel. Cold air also increases wind resistance, decreases tire pressure, and hurts your battery’s performance.

But there are plenty of easy things you can do to reverse some of these problems. Don’t warm up your car before you go somewhere—idling is the biggest waste of gas there is. If you have a garage, park inside it, so your car spends less time getting up to temperature. And check your tire pressure regularly! If they’re low, fill ‘em up.